#VU92761 Out-of-bounds read in Linux kernel - CVE-2021-20177

Vulnerability identifier: #VU92761

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 4 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2021-20177

CWE-ID: CWE-125

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Linux kernel
Operating systems & Components / Operating system

Vendor: Linux Foundation

Description

The vulnerability allows a local privileged user to perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's implementation of string matching within a packet. A privileged user (with root or CAP_NET_ADMIN) when inserting iptables rules could insert a rule which can panic the system. Kernel before kernel 5.5-rc1 is affected.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's repository.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: All versions

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External links
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1914719

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.